Cloud computing refers to World Wide Web-based processing, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices on demand over the Internet. Cloud computing is a natural evolution of the widespread adoption of virtualization, Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA), and utility computing. Details are abstracted from consumers, who no longer have need for expertise in, or control over, the technology infrastructure “in the cloud” that supports them.
Cloud computing describes a new supplement, consumption, and delivery model for Information Technology (IT) services based on the Internet, and it typically involves over-the-Internet provision of dynamically scalable and often virtualized resources. It is a by-product and consequence of the ease-of-access to remote computing sites provided by the Internet. This frequently takes the form of web-based tools or applications that users can access and use through a web browser as if it was a program installed locally on their own computer. Typical cloud computing providers deliver common business applications online which are accessed from another Web service or software like a Web browser, while the software and data are stored on servers.